This article is the first of a series of Forex broker reviews I will be writing from the more casual Forex trader's viewpoint. I have taken on this endeavor to provide value to my readers, and due to a readily apparent lack of objective reviews of Forex brokers. The majority of the reviews I could find on the lovely www were either written by people who have ads for the corresponding brokers plastered all over their websites (conflict of interest anyone?), or seemingly jaded currency traders who reference the slippage of a few pips that cost them the family farm.
On to the races, GCI Financial, is certainly one of the better known Forex brokers on the web, and I headed there first. Spreads looked reasonable, no commission, 24x7 support (which I was able to contact at 3am EST via live chat), Windows and Java options, all good here as well. It does mention you can trade on your mobile device, a feature I did not try, but certainly sounds interesting. I need yet another reason to ignore other people and dive into my iPhone! With no less than 7 different ways to deposit into your Forex trading account, I was up and running in no time.
I decided to try out their ICTS mini Forex software. Downloading was a breeze (less than 5 seconds on cable connection), and the software instantly updated itself with the same rapidity. As I have the patience of a 14 year old with ADD, this was a great start. The software ran smoothly and the interface was very approachable at first glance.
As I began pulling up charts, looking over my favorite pairs, and enjoying some Forex goodness, I noticed how quickly I was adopting to the program. The GCI software intuitive, simple yet powerful, and really never seemed to "get in the way". I made a few trades, and did not notice any slippage or disconnects (the bane of all Forex traders!), and even though I was on the wrong side of the Euro for most of the day, had an overall enjoyable experience.
I will note I did not trade at any major news times, so your results under heavy load may vary. If you are looking for a flashy eToro type experience (which is fun, but has the most basic charts ever), this isn't your cup of tea. If you are looking for all the tools organized well, easy to learn and quite capable, I'd say this is the right place to be.
Overall, I was very pleased with the experience, and would recommend Forex trading on GCI.
